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One of the first people to disseminate a mysterious YouTube video condemning the upcoming Gaza Freedom Flotilla has confirmed to The Electronic Intifada that he works at the office of the Israeli Prime Minister. Guy Seemann denied strongly however that he disseminated the video as part of his work for the Israeli government.

“Marc” claimed to be a gay rights activist who wanted to join the flotilla but was disillusioned to learn that the organizers would not welcome him because he’s gay, and then goes on to describe the flotilla as little more than an effort to support virulently anti-gay Islamist organizations.

“Marc’s” Israeli accent, the professional production of the video, and other elements suggest that rather then being a genuine video blog from an activist, it is a piece of carefully designed Israeli propaganda designed to coincide with both the flotilla and the observance of gay and lesbian pride month around the world.

Seemann confirms he works for Israeli prime minister’s office

The Electronic Intifada reached Seemann by telephone. Seemann confirmed that he tweeted the video from the Twitter account @GuySeemann, which he had opened on 15 June 2011. Although it was the only item to appear in his timeline, Seemann denied that he opened the Twitter account expressly to disseminate the video.

Seemann explained that he received the video from a “friend” and decided to share it: “I was sent an email by this person [containing the video] and I sent it out as well.” Seemann said he did not know who “Marc” was. Seemann told The Electronic Intifada that he had watched the video and approved of its message.

Asked about online biographical information that he works in the office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Seemann at first refused to confirm or deny, but when pressed stated:

“Yes I work at the prime minister’s office, and no this video has no connection. It happens to be that I’m Jewish and I work in Israel. I’m sure that you get a million videos sent to you, just because you work for The Electronic Intifada.”

Seemann deletes his tweet

Shortly after The Electronic Intifada spoke to Seemann he deleted the tweet which he had ackowledged making:

The Government Press Office of Israel had also promoted the video and referenced Guy Seemann’s Twitter account.

From the record, it seems like an extraordinary coincidence that Seemann would spontaneously decide to open a personal Twitter account, and that within a short time the Israeli Government Press Office would be aware of it and then reference him as a source for the video, without some offline communication.

It does really show how we need tools to trace the origins of what we read - memes, news, and so on. This is such an obvious fake, easy to spot, but future efforts or other efforts at "authenticity" might be better engineered. So tracing the sources might become quite important so we can tell what's PR or propaganda.

What I find interesting is that the more Israel cannot defend its actions legally, politically, let alone logically, the more its propaganda is ham-fisted! If there weren't lives at stake, one could laugh at how much the IDF and Israeli govt. are like the Key Stone Cops! Inane, inept pinkwashing, stupid, pasted together videos with an obviously heavy editorial hand, bizzarre and incoherent rhetoric at every turn. Frankly, the only less capable propaganda I can think of is from the US State Dept and US Ambassador to the UN.

Why would anyone ultimately be afraid of these people who have lots of money to blow and cannot even muster the most basic tools of public diplomacy and who do not even try to be manipulative but just blast away like every single thing they see is a nail that to which they have to apply a hammer. And tanks, political assasinations, drones, bombs.

When I listen to the US and Israeli govts on the Gaza flotilla, I keep thinking I'm watching "Stupid Human Tricks" on SNL.

(...) and moving to Israel, Guy was awarded a fellowship to work with international journalists and diplomats at the Prime Minister’s Office and then served as the international director for Lev Echad, an organization which deals with crisis management. Guy currently is working to improve Israeli international strategy and tactics with the USA and other English speaking countries.